M-banking, it’s now !

In 2014, only 17 % of customers went to their bank more than once per month… compared with 62 % in 2007. Banks must respond to changing consumer preferences by going paperless. What better to facilitate this transition than the mobile phone…

According to a survey for the bank ING Direct, two in three French people believe that mobile banking applications will soon become unavoidable. Nearly one in three people expressed interest in the idea of payment via mobile. Mobile banking, also known as m-banking is a trend that appeals particularly to young people. Indeed, 53% of 18-24 year olds say that they are tempted by the concept.

Banking is already moving slowly into our pockets. According to another survey, by the firm Bain & Company, 35% of trade between banking institutions and their customers is now made by using a mobile phone.

Almost all banking can be done remotely

Banks can benefit from the fact that most of the banking operations of their customers can be performed remotely.

This movement towards m-banking concerns all banks, whether conventional banks with “online” version of their services or “pure players”.

Banks seem to be as enthusiastic as their clients with regards to m-banking. Axa has launched a service called “Soon” whilst BNP is offering “Hello Bank”. At Hello Bank for example, anyone can open an account on their mobile, uploading photos of the supporting documents! Services available on mobile phones are springing up all over the place. These offers are targeted notably at Generation Y with their preference for communication by messages rather than phone calls. With these applications, they can talk to their advisor by chat or on social networks for example.

The application should not be a simple transposition of the bank’s website; the interest would be rather limited in this case. The format of the mobile screen is very small, obliging service providers, to display data more simply. After time savings and flexibility, simplicity is indeed cited as one of the main advantages of m -banking.

It is therefore for banks to embark on the m-banking adventure in order to keep one step ahead of their competitors. But they must work carefully on ergonomics and responsive design, in order to keep customers interested!